The calabash is used as a metaphor for Africa and its representation of the cinema. The rhythm meddles into it to pose questions to yesterday's cinema and emphatically addresses tomorrow's: will the digital age be another dream or will it turn into a nightmare? With the Watmon Cultural Group, an new path for young African cinema, a mixture of fiction and documentary is being opened up.

Jazz Mama

Dir. Petna Ndaliko Katondolo, 2010, 30 min

“The rape of the land, the mutilation of the flesh.” La femme Congolaise - courageous and industrious despite the vicissitudes and the turbulence of life. She continues to fight for herself, taking on professions previously reserved for men. More often then not she must pay her children’s school fees and compensate for her husband who is either underpaid, unemployed, or absent. She sells kikwembe at Zando market ; she is an engineer repairing electronics on the corner of the street, she is a designer, a stylist, minister, or teacher… Demonstrating their incredible strength and their faith in their ability to continue their own advancement, these women stand strong in their communities even as they denounce the rape and the violence they experience. “Both earth and mother, she is the foundation, like Kinshasa herself, scorned and beloved.”

AFTER THE SCREENING: A discussion with director Petna Ndaliko Katondolo